Alliance focus on prevention frameworks and research  

We are at a pivotal moment where focusing on prevention is crucial to combat the growing issue of child sexual exploitation and abuse online.  

Last year’s Global Threat Assessment highlighted that most interventions are focused on responding to the issue and reducing reoffending (for example, investigating abuse and prosecuting offenders), rather than preventing abuse from happening. Prevention remains under-prioritised, underfunded and under-researched. 

In response, the Alliance has prioritised prevention as an area of focus, engaging with experts and member organisations across the world to help strengthen prevention responses.  

Through the Safe Futures Hub, a collaboration between the Alliance, Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), and Together for Girls, we are developing a comprehensive prevention framework and a capabilities checklist for governments. This will help enhance expertise in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, tailored to each country’s unique needs.  

To inform this, we recently hosted a listening session at the Envision conference in United States to learn more from global practitioners about emerging gaps, and we’ve been conducting interviews with experts from across the world. 

We’re also researching gaps in prevention for children and young people exhibiting harmful sexual behaviours. Both the framework and research project are scheduled for completion by mid-next year.  

You can read more about preventing child sexual abuse online through public health and prevention approaches in our Global Threat Assessment.  

If you are a member working in prevention and you have a case study or perspective you’d like to share with us and other members, please contact Senior Communications and Content Officer, Poppy Reid, at poppy@weprotectga.org